Filenews 16 October 2022 - byEleftheria Paizanou
The total budgeted construction cost of the 21 main infrastructure projects promoted in Cyprus exceeds €851 million. Some of the projects are on track for implementation and for others their construction works are expected to begin in 2023.
The state budget for 2023 includes an indicative list of the most important infrastructure projects for which the relevant appropriations were included. It is a fact that the budgets of the coming years will include funds for the implementation of these projects, the cost of which is expected to increase due to inflationary pressures and the rise in prices for construction materials. This table does not include the infrastructure projects related to the Recovery Fund, as well as others that will be implemented under the co-financed funds. Below is a record and a brief presentation of the ten main infrastructure projects in the 2023 budget.
New Cyprus Museum
It is estimated that it will cost €143.9 million. At the end of August, the tender procedure for the award of the tender for the construction of the new Cyprus Museum, for which two bids had been submitted, was closed. The 2023 budget included funds around €19 million for this project. The start of works is scheduled for the beginning of 2023, if the buildings of the Health Services, which are located in the area of the old Nicosia Hospital, where the museum will be built, are evacuated. The construction period of the project is estimated at 3.5 years. The new museum will include rooms for the exhibits, storage areas for antiquities, workshops, a restaurant, a cafeteria, an educational program room, shops and parking lots.
Nicosia Courthouse
It is estimated to cost €93m. An international architectural competition is expected to be launched in the coming weeks. The relevant tender for the remodelling of the building that has already been purchased will be announced, with the aim of awarding the tender by January 2023 and the works to be completed within two years.
Paphos - Polis Chrysochous Road
The total cost of the project was budgeted at €89.2 million. The 2023 budget included appropriations of €14.9 million, which will be allocated for the continuation of the works of the first phase of the motorway, with only two lanes of traffic, from Agia Marinouda to Stroumpi. The works are expected to be implemented in November 2024. This section of the road will be connected to the existing road after Stroumpi and will operate autonomously. For the completion of the project, a section of road of another 15 km remains up to the entrance of the City. At the same time, the funds will cover the services of consultants for the control of the studies of the contract of the first phase, environmental services, birdlife monitoring services and consulting services for the preparation of tender documents for the second phase of the project with the design and construction method. A budget line is included for the start of works on the improvement works on the existing road. Expropriations are ready for publication. Work is expected to start in mid-2023 and be completed in 12 months.
Astromeritis-Evrychou Motorway
A budget of €88.5 million was budgeted. The 2023 budget included funds of €11.3 million. At the beginning of September, the contract for the construction of the highway was signed. The project will improve the connectivity and accessibility of mountainous areas with the urban centre. The project concerns a four-lane intercity motorway, 11 km long. approximately. It starts at a point on the existing Astromeritis-Evrychou road, south of the community of Astromeritis, after the junction to the Community of Vyzakia and ends at the junction of the existing road. The project includes an interchange and interchanges with the relevant sections of roads required for the smooth operation of the motorway. At the beginning and the end, level junctions are provided for the connection to the existing road network. The implementation of the project is scheduled to start soon and will last 36 months.
Other important projects
- Construction of a new Building of the General Chemical Laboratory at a cost of €77.3 million. A small budget is included in the budget for the project.
- Nicosia-Palaichori-Agros road, at a cost of €73 million. The budget included a budget of €7.8 million, which will be allocated for the revision of the construction plans for the upgrade of the Nicosia-Palaichori road. Around the middle of 2023, the start of works for the construction of the Anagyies and Agrokipia motorway is estimated, which will last 3 years.
- Construction of the Nicosia perimeter motorway, first phase, at a cost of €72.2 million. Appropriations of €21.7 million have been included in the budget. In December 2023, the first phase of the perimeter works is completed, which concerns a distance of 7.5 km. It is a section that is connected to the Nicosia-Limassol highway and includes 4 interchanges, one of which is a junction between motorways. The overall project will be completed in five phases.
- Construction of a building for the Legal Service, with a total cost of €50.7 million. The 2023 budget includes appropriations of €6.3 million, which will cover the costs of conducting a study, design and for the construction of the privately owned building for the accommodation of the Legal Service.
- Construction of the Limassol-Saitta motorway, at a cost of €31 million. This is the first phase of the project. The budget for 2023 included an allocation of €10.1 million. The construction works, which began in September 2020, continue at an intensive pace, while, according to the schedule, the first phase of the project is expected to be completed in March 2023. The new Limassol - Saitta motorway will be four lanes, with a central dividing island. Its total length will be 22.5 km. and the design of this major project is promoted in three phases.
Other infrastructure projects in the budget are the headquarters of the Land Registry, the improvement and construction of Ippokratous and Argyroupolis avenues in Lakatameia and Strovolos, the improvement of the Larnaca-Dhekelia coastal road and the improvement of the Deryneia-Sotira, Akrountas-Dierona and Arakapas roads. They also concern the construction plans for the special network of Kappari, the construction of the Yermasoyia bypass road, the upgrading of the avenue within the Municipality of Tseri, the construction of the Ayia Napa fire station, the improvement of Grigori Afxentiou Avenue in Agios Dometios and the repair of 96 residences in the government settlement "Strovolos II".
New accommodation centre for asylum seekers
Included in the 2023 budget was the project for the construction of a new accommodation centre for asylum seekers and a pre-removal centre in the area of Limnes in Menogeia. The cost of implementing the project is estimated at €75.8 million. The capacity of the accommodation centre "Limnes" in the area of Menogeia can reach up to 1,000 people. It accommodates people who have submitted an application for international protection in Cyprus and whose application is either under examination or has been rejected and the appeal is pending.
The new facility will accommodate migrants whose application for political asylum was rejected and are in the process of returning or deporting. The centre will be closed type. The new pre-removal centre will be able to accommodate 1,000 people and expand in the future to accommodate 1,500 people.
